Journey Of The War

The Ride

I woke up feeling groggy and confused. 

where am I?

I looked around, remembering the events that had just happened who knows how long ago. most of the kids who were stolen were still knocked out, but about 4 more kids got up and stared at me. I looked at my lap where Max's head laid. His improvised head cast turned from bright red to dried brown, but was still holding onto his messy brown hair. In the end, we were okay, but the fight wasn't over.

I looked over to my left and the small pale girl that sat across the van from me had scooted right next to me. She clutched my bag close to her as she watched me timidly. On the floor laid three empty protein bar wrappers. I looked at the little culprit, and her face grew guilty.  I quickly forgave her when I heard that the only thing louder than her growling stomach, was the chubby kid's snoring. She handed me my bag and I took out a small pouch. I poured in a can of kidney beans and some tomato sauce. Swishing it around, I took out a small metal box and filled it with straw from inside the van floor. I lit a match from my emergency pack and set the straw on fire. I quickly dipped in the pouch in a small pot and set it over the flame. The savory scent of chili filled the space and a few of the kids woke up.  I pulled out a few spoons and a pack of saltine crackers. "It's ready." I murmured and a few kids crawled over to the warm pot of food and chose a spoon.

I took a canteen and poured a small swish of water into the metal box to kill the fire. From my lap, Max squirmed around moaning before he opened his eyes. He looked up at my face and quietly uttered-

"M-Mom?"

an unimaginable pain struck through me. Tears welled in my eyes. I didn't have the heart to tell him. My only reaction was to hold him closer. He felt cold. His bruised hands clenched and he continued to mutter non-sense. I looked up and saw the other kids staring as if we were some sort of aliens. everything felt broken.

After a few minutes, Max finally sat up, swaying around dizzily. The chubby kid who woke up at the scent of food brought the pot which was still somewhat warm. I took it from his caring hold and offered some to Max.  Once again he looked up at me, but this time deep into my eyes, Then suddenly sparked up yelling like he just remembered a life time. "ALEX! Oh my god, you're okay! Where are we? What happened?"

"You fought like a champ, that's what happened. I was so sure we would escape but the second guy ganged on you and it all went downhill. I'm sorry, I should've just gotten on the boat when we got there..." softly, he responded with, "It's okay." Then looked down at my hands which were cuffed in tight metal braces. Out of nowhere, He punched into the side of the van and screamed: "WTF DID HE DO TO YOU?" His language shocked me but honestly didn't surprise me. I tilted my head down. The memory of what happened when Max was out cold ran through my head.

"H-His name is Avian... HE-He didn't do anything! but he almost..."

Max's face remained infuriated. I felt chills run down my spine as I tried to explain to my little brother what had happened, but we both turned head when we heard a dainty voice speak up.

"Talon. Talon was the other guy's name. He's the one who..."

She began to cry, but her bawling was quieter than a cat's meow. We all felt bad someone as young as her had to go through anything at all, but now at least we had some information.

Avian and Talon... hmm...

"What your name?" Max demanded. very faintly she responded with "Valentine." and I leaned in to give her a hug. "What else do you know?" Max asked a little more calmly. "Talon is merciless. He killed 6 people while he dragged me around on this dumb chain! and one of those people was my brother... He tried to protect me, but Talon wouldn't deal with him. Avian tried to stop him saying that he would be good for something, but Talon shot him anyway and all he said was... was..." through her tears, we hardly heard her hiccup "oops." Max and I shared a look, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing.

So Talon is a no go, stay away from him. And could Avian be a softie? But why..?

Not a moment later, the van hit a bump once again and then stopped completely. Valintine took hold of my arm, and Max watched the van door closely. He snatched my small black pocket knife from the side pocket and notioned that I keep it in my boot. Suddenly, The metal doors behind us swung open. A tall intimidating man stood before us. sweat dripped down from his army-cut light brown hair as he yelled at us. "Everyone, move out. NOW." One by one, I helped each of the kids hop out of the overly-cramped van, then tended to Max and myself. Behind us laid the children who haven't yet woken up since their capture.

We were forced to stand in a line in front of the ominous van. on either side of us, multiple vans were aligned, with the children doing the same thing. From the side, I noticed Avian lean against the vehicle, and for moments we held eye-contact until the Man I presume to be Talon began talking at the top of his lungs. "LISTEN CLOSELY, BRATS. RULE NUMBER ONE-" He turned around towards the inside of the van holding a gun. I realized what he planned on doing and quickly covered Valintine's eyes, along with my own. More than 6 gunshots echoed from the truck. "SLACKERS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. YOU DO WHAT WE SAY, WHEN WE SAY IT. OR ELSE." I looked up and blood was splattered against the walls, and dripped from the straw filled floor, onto the sandy ground. goosebumps appeared on my arms as I held Valentine's and Max's hands.

"RULE TWO, YOU STAY IN YOUR PLACE AT ALL TIMES UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD OTHERWISE. YOU LADIES WILL BE SEPARATED FROM THE BOYS TO BE... AUCTIONED OFF. Yeah, that sound about right. BOYS, YOU WILL TRAIN AND FIGHT ALONGSIDE US. OR ELSE. ANYONE REFUSE?" A kid on the far left raised his and said: "Um, excuse me, sir?" Suddenly, three bullets went flying his way. The kid let out a deep gasp with each shot, and laid on the floor twitching with blood coming out of every hole on his body. We all stood silently, trying to look away. Tears welled up in my eyes. "RULE THREE. NO STUPID QUESTIONS. THE CONSEQUENCE WAS DEMONSTRATED BY YOUR LOVELY VOLUNTEER. ANY QUESTIONS? NO? I DIDN'T THINK SO, MOVING ON. SEXES SEPARATE, NOW." 

We quickly scurried on either side of each other. The boys stood next to their fallen comrade, and the girls stood on the side closest to a large dark green gate. Avian walked up to Talon and announced: "There are seven boys and five girls, not including the four boys and three girls you just killed." "Eh, they were doomed anyway." Most of us were hit with shock. What would happen to us? Talon made his way in front of me. "I will lead these lovely, and delicious young ladies." He looked right at me, and I looked away so fast, I almost gagged. Avian quickly walked up and held his shoulder. "Maybe you should take the boys. They need your discipline, and the boss was meaning to see you anyway."  He grunted and dug into the metal clinking in his pocket to pull out keys and tossed them to Avian. Talon then looked at me and smirked once more and turned around to take the guys to who knows where. My stomach churned as I watched Max walk farther away, and I wiped the tears I forgot were welled in my eyes. 

Avian trailed back into the van and pulled out a long metal chain with several clamps spaced a few feet from each other. He locked each girl in by either their handcuffs or collar. Valentine and I were the only two girls with both on. He tugged on the longer end and called the girls attention. "You will be walking in my direction. When we pass those gates, you will be reporting straight to your assigned table. You lovely ladies are group..." He glanced at the center of his wrist" "GG16. You will be told a few set of rules and instructions. Then you will head into a small dorm with comfortable hay to rest on until your group is called for offering. After that, you should be separated. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DORM ON ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. there are guards at every corner guarding the halls. If they see you they will KILL you. At the offering, our soldiers will be allowed to pick one of you to become their personal servant, and you shall reside in their living headquarters. If your new owner is of a low ranking, you will live with multiple men, and work as a maid. If your new owner is of a higher rank, then they shall decide how you will be of service. Those of you who are not chosen will serve as cooks for the camps, or medical assistance. Good Luck."

Avian looks at me deeply, then spins around and begins walking.

Why me...?